Yesterday my sensei ordered my black belt. It takes about a month as it has to be embroidered and then sewn together. So now it's starting to get serious. I'm doing well with my katas and with teaching a class but I've got to work a lot more on ... Read more

Last week was much better. I did a few fun things:
o Monday: Zumba. This time there was a smaller class, more instruction and a lot more fun.
o Tuesday: Sparring. There were only four of us so sensei had us doing teams, except at one poin... Read more

I've had it with this winter! We've had hardly any snow but day after day is cold, gloomy and wet. I feel like I'm living in Mordor. And the days are still so short!
It's really starting to affect my energy levels. Today I could only manage... Read more

Yesterday we've started sparring again, after over a year without. In the Nisei style, it's possible to get up to Shodan without sparring, but it's still a useful exercise, and fun. I feel a little guilty for having so much fun hitting people, b... Read more

So the new addition has become firmly established in my house. We named her "Rani", Punjabi for "Queen". She had some health problems - pyometra, an upper respiratory infection and on top of everything an ear infection, but she's getting over th... Read more

I wasn't looking forward to my first Christmas in twenty years without cats. Two days ago somebody posted at work that there's a cat in a shelter who desperately needs a home as she was really depressed and in danger of getting sick. Bad news: s... Read more

I've been sitting on a plateau the size of the Canadian Shield for the last three months. Yesterday I decided to reset my goals. Hmm - no wonder; my calorie allotment is quite a bit smaller than what I had been eating. It's actually not bad beca... Read more

Well, I went and tried indoor rock climbing today. For the first time it wasn't too bad I think, although I only got about 20 minutes of actual climbing in. For one thing I had to learn how to use the equipment, and then I had to get up my nerve... Read more

Oh man, the jet lag really got me this time. I'm so glad I took another week off work. Normally it doesn't bother me so much, but I think because it's so dark anyway it makes it harder for me to adjust. When I go to Germany in the summertime, I ... Read more

Well, here I am back home and did I do what I had planned to do on my vacation? Let's see:
Eat well: I tried, I really tried. And I didn't do too badly but not as well as I had hoped, especially in the fruit and veggie department. At least ... Read more

I can't believe as a mental health professional I'm so dense when it comes to my own well-being. Over the past month I've become increasingly bothered by obsessive thoughts of death and was slipping back into unhealthy habits. Yesterday was my f... Read more

Less than a week now; on Nov. 07 our whole family will be off to Germany. Ir's my mother's 85th birthday. She's especially looking forward to meeting my son's fiancee. Carmel also has family in Germany so they'll be taking a side trip of a few d... Read more

When I was a teenager, me and my friends used to get the giggles for no reason. Even though I haven't been a teenager in a long time this still happens to me now and then.
This morning I walked into the kitchen and my husband gasped, grabbe... Read more

Tonight my old cat joined his sister at the Rainbow Bridge. He went very peacefully and I'm glad about that, but the house feels very empty now, even though there are three humans and a big dog still living in it. For the first time in twenty ye... Read more